


Perpetual Companions

by WinterDreams



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Comfort/Angst, Family Feels, Gen, Post-Canon, everyone reuniting in the afterlife, post BOTFA death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-03-03 17:20:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2858831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterDreams/pseuds/WinterDreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is based on the Tumblr post: http://ofkili.tumblr.com/post/105438343778/thorin-thought-kili-lived-kili-thought-thorin<br/>where in the movie verse, Fíli thought Thorin and Kíli lived, Kíli thought Thorin lived and Thorin thought Kíli lived. So have the very short reunion in the Halls of Mahal I wrote.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Perpetual Companions

Fíli wakes with another scream dangling from his lips and the air caught in his throat. He coughs and coughs until finally the air slides into his lungs instead of cutting into them. Once aware of his consciousness, he stumbles to his feet as fast he can. His braids whip through the air as his gaze darts from side to side but nothing around him is familiar. He stands in the middle of a large dark hallway, fire flickering in the sconces on the massive pillars of stone that line the dim hall. The stone causes each footstep to echo as Fíli takes a few hesitant steps forward. Despite the size of the place, there is nobody else to be seen and he feels his heart begin to hammer in his chest. Fíli frowns. His heart is beating but–

_Stone scrapes his bleeding hands, hair parting from his scalp as he struggles against his captors. His Uncle’s eyes are wide and Fili sees him shaking his head when his nephew tells them to go. His hands dangle uselessly at his sides and he screams at them to run before he feels the hot pain of a blade, and the sky around him flashes white and then black._

Dead.

That’s what he is.

Dead and awoken in the empty Halls of Mahal.

Fíli realizes he has fallen to his knees, and when he looks down he sees he’s completely naked. He raises his hands in front of his face and studies the smooth skin. There are no marks anywhere on his chest either, no indication an orc blade ever sliced into him and stole his life. Fili can almost believe the entire thing had been a dream if not for the lack of familiarity of the setting and the lack of his brother by his side.

“Fíli?” Fíli scrambles to his feet at the sound of his name called by an unknown voice.

A figure suddenly moves from beyond a pillar in front of Fíli, and steps into the pool of light. He appears younger than Thorin with light hair to match Fíli’s own. The other Dwarf offers Fíli a small smile and recognition flares in his chest.

“’Adad?” He asks.

He only has fuzzy memories of larger hands and light laughter similar to Kíli’s, but he’s seen the portrait his mother carries around many times throughout the years. His father takes a step closer, and when Fíli doesn’t shy away, he slowly reaches out to pull Fíli into a warm embrace. Fíli wraps his arms around his father after a few silent seconds, letting his eyes fall close.

“I have wanted to embrace you for so long, inùdoy,” his father murmurs. He pushes away a little so they can both see each other’s faces. “But I never wanted you to see these Halls so early.”

“I’m s–” Fíli begins before his father’s hands tighten on his shoulders so hard all his words die on his tongue.

“ _Never_ apologize for this,” his father says, offering Fíli another small smile. “You fought until the very end and we are all so proud of you.”

Then he slowly leaned their foreheads against each other and Fíli feels all the choking terror and desperation and bitter pain that had encased his heart melt away.

Fíli has just dressed in the new clothes his father gave him in father’s room when another Dwarf comes skidding into the room. He can barely get out any words through his panting, whole face turned bright red from exertion.

“The bastards got Kíli,” he finally manages to spit out, and Fíli’s entire body shudders into stillness. One second passes in silence before he is bolting from the room back the way they came with his father yelling after him. His father’s room is close to the hall where the newly dead arrive and so Fíli manages not to get lost despite the unknown surroundings. Other Dwarves stand outside the hall, waiting for others who must have finally passed in the fighting. Fíli doesn’t spare any of them a glance, just bursts through the doors as his thoughts roar as loud as the cursed orcs.

_I sent him away._

“Kíli!” He shouts the moment he’s in the dim corridors he had arrived in. He looks around wildly but doesn’t catch a single glimpse of his brother. He begins darting from pillar to pillar looking for him.

_He was supposed to be with Uncle._

“Kíli, can you hear me?”

_I told them to run._

“Answer me, nadadith!”

_They were supposed to be safe!_

“Fíli!” Fíli nearly falls over, he stops so quickly when he hears his brother’s shout.

“Kee, keep talking!” Fíli yells, and begins to follow the sound of Kíli's frantic answers.

By the time Kíli comes into sight, Fíli can feel tears rolling down his cheeks. Fíli doesn’t say anything more when he spots Kíli, simply barrels right into his chest, nearly knocking both of them to the ground. For a long moment, Fíli simply holds him as he did when they were children. They both move back, Kíli clutching at Fíli’s braids while Fíli digs his fingers into his brother’s smaller shoulders.

“What are you doing here?” he demands. “You were supposed to go back to Thorin!”

“I did but–”

“I told you to run!”

“They killed you, Fee!” Kíli shouts, eyes wide and tears dripping from his chin. “Your body–how could I not avenge you?”

“You were supposed to live!” Fíli screams, unable to stop himself from tightening his grip. “You and Thorin and the Company–you were supposed to live and rebuild Erebor just like Thorin described it in all his stories and marry that blasted she-Elf you kept sighing about!”

“You are the crown Prince!” Kíli screams right back. Fíli dimly wonders if they are insulting their Maker by arguing in the very place he created for his children to arrive in, but that is nothing in the face of his brother’s death. “You are the one who was supposed to rule after Uncle passed and finally use all that wisdom you claim to have and nag me for not taking proper care of my hair and–”

Then Fíli is moving their foreheads together and closing his eyes, unable to stand the sight of Kíli’s face screwed up against his tears. He can hear Kíli gulping down air as he tries to calm down and Fíli forces himself to push away the fire burning the inside of his chest. When both finally no longer feel the urge to scream at each other, Kíli once again burrows into Fíli’s arms like he used to when they were younger and nightmares woke him.

“I am sorry, Kee,” Fíli whispers. “You deserved to live.”

“So did you.”

“Yes, but I promised mother I would watch over you,” Fíli says, “Just as you promised mother to return.”

“Only one of us broke our promise,” Kíli replies. “And it was not you.”

Fíli’s arms tighten around Kíli, and he can’t choke out any words past the failure filling his throat with bile. Even if Kíli believed so, his presence in the Halls is enough proof against his words.

Pain suddenly flares in Fíli’s head as Kíli reels away from the head-butt he’d given. Fíli shoves him away and clutches at the side of his head, glaring at Kíli’s grin.

“What in Mahal’s name was that for?” he snaps.

“For not listening to me,” Kíli answers. His grin fades and he crosses his arms tightly in front of his chest. “I will not have you blaming yourself for what happened when you made me go back to Uncle. Besides, Uncle carries enough blame around for everyone in these Halls.”

“When did my youngest become so mature?” Someone laughs from behind them, Fíli whirling around to spot their father while Kíli jumps backwards. Their father moves toward them with a smile, and Fíli turns back to his brother. He grabs his hand and drags Kíli forward as he gently introduces the two. Kíli is engulfed in a hug just as Fíli was seconds later and Fíli swallows down what guilt he can.

They don’t get very far from those dark corridors when they see three Dwarves striding purposefully toward them, and their father stiffens and draws them to a halt.

“Thorin?” their father asks, and they all nod.

“But–” Kíli’s voice sounds like a child’s, and Fíli’s grip on his hand tightens. “He was alive with Bilbo and Dwalin.”

“No longer, laddie,” one of the male Dwarf says and Fíli finds his jaw dropping open.

“Grandfather?” he asks, for the Dwarf is the spitting image of the portrait of Thráin that Dis had shown them. All of the older Dwarrows turn to smile at them, though it doesn’t reach their eyes.

“Well met, my daughter’s sons,” Thráin says. He introduces Thrór and Ris, Thorin’s grandfather and mother, who both give the younger Dwarfs a kind smile. “Come, your Uncle will want to know you are here.”

They fall into step behind the others, returning once more to the entrance to their own arrival place. Fíli winces a little at Kíli’s grip, but says nothing about it. His younger brother’s lips are pressed into a tight line and his beardless face pale.

“A good thing he has us with him,” Fíli suddenly whispers to him, and Kíli jerks a little at the sudden sound. “Otherwise he would surely get lost as easily as he did in the Shire.”

Fíli offers him a smile and watches as a grin slowly breaks through the grim mask death had painted on his brother’s face.

“Yes, and he would be terribly bored here without us to keep him entertained,” Kíli agrees, and they hear Thráin snort ahead of them.

“Frerin went ahead of all of us,” Ris explains once they reach their destination.

It takes considerably less time to find Thorin than it took for Fíli to find Kíli. Kíli tears away from the group before anyone else can call out, and Fíli is quick to follow. Thorin clutches at the both of them, and his voice is dripping with grief when he tells Kíli he thought he had lived.

“And leave Fee alone to discover the Halls’ secrets?” he asks. “Perish the thought!”

His voice is buoyed by a cheer that Fíli can tell holds grains of sincerity and Fíli can only hope it helps Thorin. Judging by the way Thorin’s eyes are bright with unshed tears when he turns to Fíli, it will take much more time and words.

“Fíli, I am so sorry, you were never–”

“You are not to blame, Uncle,” Fíli says, and presses closer to his side opposite of Kíli. “We made our choice and the consequences of them are ours alone.”

“My own sister’s son lecturing me on responsibility,” Thorn replies, choking on a laugh.

“Save some words for me,” Frerin calls behind them, and his voice breaks the distance the rest of Thorin’s kin were holding themselves at. They move forward, latching on to Thorin and speaking gently while Kíli and Fíli remain tucked at his side.

None of the new arrivals seem willing to let go of each other for a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> No beta so sorry if there were any silly mistakes. Also, I suck at titles.


End file.
